Here at Bass Guitar Rocks I mostly stay away from attempting to teach bass guitar. The main reason being that unless I'm dealing with someone considering taking up the bass guitar or that's still pretty "green" and interested in playing rock or hard rock - I don't feel qualified to teach. I'm more comfortable addressing how to make intelligent gear choices and finding the right bass for you.

However, there are a lot of people out there that just want to learn how to play bass guitar better or the best way to learn to play bass.

While it's true that you can search on Youtube and find a lot of different lessons for free - it's also a way to quickly get overwhelmed and confused by having too many teachers giving potentially conflicting advice!

So when I discovered the Teach Me Bass Guitar and their bass home study videos - I was interested immediately and dug deeper to learn more about it for my readers.

Don't want to read the full post? You can watch my video of the highlights below instead:

The instructor is a man by the name of Roy Vogt - not a name that I recognized immediately - however his credentials are impressive. There are also quotes from Victor Wooten and Bass Player Magazine's (and bassist in his own right with Steve Vai and Dethklok) Brian Beller endorsing Vogt's teaching abilities or bass sensibilities.

Vogt has the distinction of being the first to receive a Masters degree in Electric Bass Performance and has been studying the instrument for more than forty years! Needless to say - if you want to learn bass from someone, you could do a whole lot worse!
Here's a brief sample from the first lesson.
[leadplayer_vid id="50F1D4141F411"]

I had the opportunity to preview 2 full lessons out of 20, so I can't comment on the entire product. The lessons were spaced pretty far apart (2 and 14), so it's difficult to see how each lesson gradually progresses in difficulty and in the concepts presented. All I can tell you is that by lesson 14 - with Roy's original tune Kung Pow - I had to pay attention and really practice with the loops to get up to speed with the band (more on that later).

Presentation

No expense was spared when it came down to the production of this training; the lighting and quality of the video is top notch. They even add some atmosphere by shooting in a restaurant of some kind as opposed to some sterile studio somewhere.

A screen shot of the video - notice the fretboard at the bottom.

There is a fretboard positioned at the bottom of the screen (sort of like tablature) during Roy's exercises so that you can easily tell where to place your fingers regardless of whether you can read music. You can also click on the moon on the right (when it turns blue) during the exercise in order to loop it; have it repeat so that you can practice and get up to speed. Each lesson tends to start with an introduction from the producer, followed by some instruction from Roy, some exercises to practice and then an opportunity to 'sit in' with a studio band (both with and without Roy). This last bit helps to simulate what it's like to play with a band rather than just practice by yourself all the time. Lastly, Roy answers some questions at different points in the lessons because the producers were clever enough to have an actual student off camera learning along with you. One of the questions asked prompted Roy to submit his 'homemade remedies' for blisters on your plucking hand when you're first starting out. Sometimes it's the little tips like these that make all the difference!

Price

Currently, Teach Me Bass Guitar is listed at $187.50 - which is a fair amount of money at first glance. However, when you factor in the cost of regular lessons from a local instructor with nowhere near the credentials or experience of Roy Vogt - it's a steal. Besides the DVDs, you also get access to his online community where you can get further insights from Roy and fellow community members. Can you find training elsewhere for less or even for free? Of course you can, but ask yourself the following questions:

What are the instructors credentials?

Can you get your money back?

Do they provide a full course without any gaps?

The Pros

From what I can tell (with access to two out of 20 lessons), this is a solid set of instructional DVDs that will take you from a beginner to a skilled player (with practice of course).

The production quality is high and they even offer a 90 day money back guarantee to ensure that you're fully satisfied with your purchase.

You're getting training from a world-class bassist and proven instructor with a solid curriculum that's designed to develop you into a well-rounded bassist.

The DVDs allow you to practice on your own schedule and without being forced to connected to the internet to watch videos (like on Youtube).

The Cons

The initial training may be a little boring for intermediate players; Vogt does come across as a little dry at times in the two lessons I watched.

Some may find the price expensive even if it ultimately offers high value for the quality of the training provided.

Some of the graphics on the video may be hard to read if it's an older TV (I tested this on a 30 inch TV circa 1989 - yours will be newer I hope). Also, I found it tricky to get the looping feature to work with my DVD player - it was much easier to just point and click on my computer (but that might just be me).

Teach Me Bass Guitar
Update - Feb 2015

The makers of Teach Me Bass Guitar have just released a digital version of of the course, so if you want the option to pay once and play forever or if you want to buy the lessons one at a time instead of all at once, now you can.

The Bottomline

If you're serious about making a living as a bassist but you're not quite sure if you want to go off to study bass in college - Teach Me Bass Guitar is an affordable alternative.

To truly master the training (like anything else) you'll need discipline to go through all the lessons on your own. Some lessons later on in the training will require that you put in the time to master concepts that were previously explained. It can be tedious learning the basics, but they are essential to becoming a well rounded player. So even though I mention it might be "boring" at times - this isn't a knock on the training - it would be impossible to over a comprehensive training from beginning to end for novices to experts that didn't have some repetition in there somewhere!

Lastly, no matter how much you pay and how great the quality of the videos are - Roy isn't going to come through the screen and make you practice or study. You're also not going to become a better player by watching the dvds and not practicing the concepts he teaches.

Full disclosure - if you click on link and proceed to buy through a link on this page, I will be compensated. Having said that, I've given you my honest opinion of the bass training after having access to two lessons from the program.

There are no risks since you have 90 days to approve of the training or get your money back. You get world-class training for less than what you'd probably pay for two months worth of weekly bass lessons from whoever is teaching in your town. So if you want to get serious about really learning how to play bass guitar - check out Teach Me Bass Guitar and take up to 90 days to see if it's right for you!